At the 2017 Annual Meeting in Amherst, the Board of Directors of the Emily Dickinson International Society (EDIS) agreed to run an election to fill a vacant Member-at-Large seat on the Board. The position of Member-at-Large is for a three-year term, which would begin at the EDIS Annual Meeting in Amherst in August 2018 and conclude in 2021. The Board normally meets once a year, usually in the summer, in conjunction with the Society's annual meeting or international conference. The Member-at-Large is expected to attend these meetings and to fund his or her own attendance.

The Emily Dickinson International Society seeks submissions to a panel at the annual American Literature Association Conference (ALA), which will be held at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco on May 24-27, 2018 (Thursday through Sunday of Memorial Day weekend).

"Dickinson: Out of Context"

This panel seeks papers that read Dickinson, or theorize reading Dickinson, outside of the usual contexts or altogether outside of context as we usually conceptualize it; or, essays might consider how recent theories of networks, assemblages, or ecologies might upend our ways of reading Dickinson contextually; or, essays might consider Dickinson’s own thinking about context(lessness). Papers might consider how to read Dickinson in relation to 21st-century politics or other 21st-century discourses, or in tandem with non-Western discourses, or how lines or stanzas of Dickinson’s poems work to produce meaning in unexpected contexts (Battlestar Galactica? A graffiti installation at a forcibly-evacuated public housing project in New Orleans? On photocopied sheets in a library in Baghdad?).

2017 Annual Meeting - Amherst, Massachusetts

Click here to register.Click here to view the schedule online.
Click here to view/download a PDF of the schedule.

In collaboration with the Emily Dickinson Museum, The Emily Dickinson International Society 2017 Annual Meeting will be held Aug. 11-12 in our favorite spot, Amherst. “Edenic Possibilities: Reading and Writing about Emily Dickinson” will feature exciting new scholarship by alum of the EDIS Critical Institutes, reading groups facilitated by well-known scholars meeting in the environs of Emily Dickinson’s home and gardens, musical performances, tours of the Dickinson houses, literary walks, and the pleasure of picnicking on the grounds of those homes. This is a fantastic opportunity for meeting new and reuniting with old friends, all fellow travelers in reading Dickinson’s writings, learning about her cultural, natural, and familial surroundings.

The Lord Jeffrey Inn has set aside a block of rooms with special EDIS rates that are offered from August 8-14. To obtain special rates, please say that you are attending the EDIS 2017 Annual Meeting when you call 413.256.8200 to book your reservation. The Lord Jeff is a delightful place to stay, one frequented by Emily Dickinson’s niece Martha Dickinson Bianchi and other Dickinson luminaries. Also, atop this post is a list of accommodations within one and two miles of the Emily Dickinson Museum.

Emily Dickinson Undergraduate Essay Prize

The Emily Dickinson International Society offers a prize for undergraduate research on Emily Dickinson. We seek critical essays by undergraduates from institutions of all kinds, focusing on Dickinson’s poems or letters. Students at all levels are eligible to submit. Papers should be 15 pages maximum. The winning essay will be published on the EDIS website and the author will receive an award of $100.

To submit an essay for the prize, send copies of articles as anonymous word attachments, plus a cover letter with contact information to the following address by June 5, 2017: epetrino@fairfield.edu. The essays will be distributed electronically to a panel of nationally recognized scholars for judging. All submissions will be acknowledged and receive a response within a month.